With Age Comes Wisdom (audio)

Frog Sauce Piquante

• 6 whole bull frogs cut into pieces or 8 bull frog legs
• 3/4 cup oil
• 8 Tbs. all-purpose flour
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 large can tomato juice
• 1 small can Rotel tomatoes
• Water
• Salt and pepper to taste

Make roux, (light color), with all-purpose flour and oil. Add onions and cook for 5 minutes. Add tomato juice, Rotel tomatoes, garlic powder, all seasonings and water and bring to a boil. If too thick add more water. Cook for approximately 1 hour. Add frogs and cook until tender. This dish should be lightly seasoned. Serve over cooked long grain rice.


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Spicy Cajun Meatloaf (audio)

Spicy Cajun Meatloaf

Audio

Background Music: "Hop Skip And Jump" by Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band on Big Rooster

 Meatloaf

This recipe is a slight departure from my regular Cajun meatloaf because it lacks a few of the basic ingredients you would ordinarily find in a typical south Louisiana meatloaf recipe - like fresh onions, bell pepper, celery and tomato sauce. That is because I wanted to keep it simple, yet without sacrificing flavor.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 egg
  
• 3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
• 3/4 cup old fashioned oats
• 1 measure of DIY Cajun Seasoning
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 3 dashes Tabasco sauce

Mix the above ingredients together thoroughly, mold the meat mixture into a small casserole dish and cook in the oven at 350 degrees F. for 50 minutes. Remove from oven. Sprinkle shredded mozzerella cheese on top and microwave until melted (about 1 minute). Finally, top the meatloaf with the sliced mushroom gravy. Makes 4 servings.

Mushroom Gravy

• 1 Tbs. powdered gumbo roux
  
• 1 measure of DIY Real Beef Onion Soup mix
• 4 oz. sliced button mushrooms
  
• 3 Tbs. butter
• 1 1/2 cups water

Mix the dry ingredients together in a sauce pan, add the melted butter and water then cook on medium heat for approximately 10 minutes. Next, add the sliced mushrooms and continue to cook on medium-low heat for an additional 15 minutes.

This is a simple recipe. You can also cut the meatloaf into thin slices and make sandwiches with it.

I hope you like it.  Bon Appetite!

Audio Note

Alaskan Crab Legs - Cajun Style

I kinda just made this up, but it tasted good and was fun to eat.  I used my Dad's How to Boil Shrimp, Crabs or Crawfish recipe to boil some new potatoes, corn on the cob, and shrimp. In addition, I added some steamed Alaskan Crab legs.  It was easy, and took only 20 minutes from start to finish, and cleanup was a snap.

Here are the ingredients, and how to made it.

• Alaskan Crab Legs
• fresh shucked and halved corn
• new potatoes
• Bay Seasoning
• Liquid Shrimp Boil
• lemon, halved
• 16-20 count shrimp
• Sea Salt

Start with a large pot of boiling water.  To this add 2 caps of liquid shrimp boil, 2 tsp of bay seasoning, 2 lemon halves, 2 Tbsp sea salt.  Next add the new potatoes.  Let this boil for 10 minutes before adding the corn, then for another 5 minutes before turning off the heat.  Finally, add the large shrimp.  Let this steep for 5 minutes, then remove the shrimp to a large bowl of ice cubes.  Carefully toss the shrimp with the ice cubes to stop the cooking process.  Remove the corn, placing it into a glass bowl with a pat of butter.  Lastly, remove the potatoes, placing into another glass bowl.  Generously coat the corn and potatoes with sea salt.

Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees. Beginning at the same time as the boil, place the semi-frozen crab legs onto a large cookie sheet, adding a small amount of water to the pan.  Cooked this for 10 minutes.  Serve the crab, corn, potatoes, and shrimp in a glass pie-dish sprinkled with bay seasoning, with crab crackers and a ramequin of Cajun Red Sauce.  Having a large glass bowl for shrimp peels, crab shells, and corn cobs is a good idea.  It's also a good idea to have lots of paper towels close at hand.

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Crab Cake Recipe (audio)

In this audio podcast, listen to Jacques describe how to make Crab Cakes. Link to Crab Cakes to read the text version of this delicious recipe.

Oignons Grillé (toasted onions)

It will take roughly one hour to prepare the toasted onions but the savory results is well worth the effort.

Ingredients

• 1 medium yellow onion
• 1 tsp salt

After dicing the onion I sprinkle a teaspoon of salt over it and sweat them on medium heat in a heavy cast iron skillet for 30 minutes before transferring it to the oven. Do not stir the onions but once or twice making sure that you evenly cover the bottom of the pan for even heat distribution.

While on the stove-top you will want to toast the chopped onions as much as possible without burning it before transferring it to the oven for dehydration.

To dehydrate the onions preheat your oven at 250 degrees F. Place the skillet on the top rack of the oven and do not disturb for at least a half-hour. This process will further reduce the moisture content without actually burning them.

Remove the onions from the oven and set aside for when you are ready to use them in preparing your meals.

That's it! You have just learned how to make your own onignon grillé Cajun style.

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DIY Cajun Seasoning

Audio

Background Music: "Johnny Can't Dance" by BeauSoleil on Allon A Lafayette & More Avec Canray Fontenot

Listen to Jacques' tip on a fast and easy way to prepare your own custom-made Cajun seasoning. Link to the text version.

Country Style Pork Ribs with Toasted Onions

I'm hoping this spicy recipe becomes a favorite of mine as well as a refreshing change from all the traditional ways of cooking country style pork ribs with bar-b-que sauces and endless marinades.

The simple fact is that I love to eat onions and I also love the smell of cooked onions. In fact,  I like them in every way, sauteed, fried, steamed, boiled ... you name it. I could eat onions at every meal. But strangely enough, I sometimes like the taste and aroma of toasted onions.

Were it not for the bitter taste which accompanies toasted onions, I truly believe it could become a great ingredient in a variety of prepared meals, like jambalaya and stews.

The French call toasted onions oignons grillé.

The onions are almost burnt. "Pert near, but not plumb" as my dear mother use to say. And, I know it's rather odd that I should explore the realm of extreme-flavors, like toasted onions, but someone had to do it. Besides, I'm an explorer at heart.

I think the thing which is the most unpopular with toasted onions, as I mentioned, is the accompanying bitter taste associated with overcooking (kinda like gumbo roux). That is why I am attempting to diminish or totally remove the bitterness without loosing the savory flavor of the toasted onions by adding just a tad of salt during the cooking process.

The ribs are slowly cooking as we speak. As I sit here typing in my bedroom office I must say that the aroma coming from my kitchen is awesome!

I placed the ribs in a casserole dish at 275 degrees F. for 2 hours. Glancing at the timer on the oven I see that only 37 minutes remain before they are done.

If this experiment is a success I will post a comment at the end of this post. If not, I will humbly acknowledge my failure and eventually remove this entry.

So, wish me luck! 

Ingredients:

• 5 country style pork ribs
• 2 Tbs toasted onions (recipe forthcoming)
• 1 measure of DIY Cajun Seasoning

I thoroughly mixed together the toasted onions and the Cajun seasoning then generously applied the rub on top of the ribs. That way if the rub imparts too much of a bitter taste all I have to do, like nearly burnt toast, is scrape off the top side without losing the entire entrée.

If you want to know the results of this experiment you may subscribe by clicking on the Subscribe button at the top left hand corner of this page, or bookmark our site for later viewing.

Catch you later. Ahheee!!

Jacques Gaspard
KT

Matagorda Paella - coming soon

I'm kicking around the idea of creating a Matagorda Paella.  My Mom and I made more of a traditional paella last Spring, and I think we did pretty good on our first try.  Here is a picture of the results.  It tasted really good, and I have since improved upon the recipe.  In fact, I served it to some initially reluctant friends.  These same friends left few remains by the end of the evening, so I would consider it a success.  With this, I have the basics down at least to my own satisfaction.  I think that I could pull it off.  My idea is to create a paella with a coastal Texas flare, using mostly local ingredients.  Here in Matagorda, we have oysters, clams, mussels, shrimp, crab, and fish.  Perhaps I'll use ingredients such as smoked oysters, blackened redfish, and blue crab.  I'll let y'all know when I give it a go.

Roasted Corn Off the Cob

This corn recipe is a wonderful accoutrement to any grilled meal.  Take a couple of fresh whole corn-on-the-cobs, and shuck them.  Grill the corn over high heat for about 10 minutes, turning it every couple of minutes.  Try to get an even distribution of browned kernels on all sides of the corn.

When the corn is done (don't over-cook it), cut the kernels from the corn.  Also chop some red onion, and red bell pepper.  Sweat the onion and bell pepper in a pat of butter with a little olive oil, plus a pinch of sea salt.  Once the onions start to become translucent, add the corn.  Saute the mix for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

This would taste good with fish, steak, chicken, pork, or anything grilled.

Jambalaya (the song)

The song "Jambalaya" was co-written by a Polk County, Texas singer/songwriter, Moon Mullican,  and a young Alabama boy who went by the stage name "Hank Williams". It was released in 1952.

The popular folklore song has since been passed around over the years from one singer to the next in similar fashion to a pot of real jambalaya being passed around a Cajun dinner table.

In a recent post we presented a version of the song "Jambalaya" by the then 4 year-old Hunter Hayes (now 17) in a special guest appearance with Hank Williams, Jr. The YouTube clip has received nearly 10 million hits over the years.

But, did you know that John Fogerty also recorded and published the song "Jambalaya" in his new album entitled "The Blue Ridge Rangers" (Fantasy Records) back in 1973?

In a solo attempt to distance himself from his old group, Credence Clearwater Revival (CCR), he pluralized the title of his new album (and the cover) and called it "The Blue Ridge Rangers". As you listen to his rendition you will recognize Forgerty's unique voice and song pitch. Please enjoy!

Resources: You can checkout Floyd's Record Shop online and there you will discover a large collection of old and popular Cajun songs.

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Only 4 Years Old - Hank Williams Jr. - Jambalaya